Houston man with history of impersonating others is facing new charges

Paul Alan White stood before a group of Marine Corps veterans at a Houston steak house in 2002, proudly recounting a story about the day he flew a helicopter to safety during the Vietnam War after the pilot had been killed, an experience that earned him some of the nation's highest military awards.

At the end of his speech that day, White beamed as he posed in pictures with other vets, a Navy Cross, Silver Star and Purple Heart fastened prominently above the left breast of his uniform. The Cross and Star are respectively the second- and third-highest U.S. military decorations for valor one can receive. White was even presented with a plaque from the other vets.

But about a year later, many of the same smiling veterans who stood next to him in those pictures would pack a federal courtroom, eager to watch punishment doled out to White, who never earned the medals he'd worn that day. In fact, authorities said, he bought most of the items used to fabricate his military career - from the awards to a military discharge document - on Ebay.

"He took a lot of time in making up all that stuff," said Joe Porto, the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted White a decade ago. Port recalled that even the signatures on the military citations for the medals looked incredibly real.

However, it would not be the last time White, now 57, faked his identity. In December, he landed in federal detention, again accused of pretending to be someone he's not - this time a CIA agent.

By the Houston man's own account, he's struggled with a decades-long battle to portray himself as someone more, someone grander, than he is, often the reason he spent much of his adult life in and out prison. He even penned a book in the mid-1990s, "Guilty As Charged," chronicling his life, which always seemed on the brink of the straight and narrow before taking a wrong turn, nearly always in the name of appearances.

"My role-playing and living in a fantasy world cause me to lie to others," White stated in his book. "One lie led to another and another to cover up the first. It never ended."

He joined military

White did actually serve in the military. He joined the Air Force after graduating from Homer High School in Homer, La., in 1973, before transferring to the Marines. He served about three years in the armed forces, according to court records.

When he left, he held the rank of E-5, a non-commissioned officer. The only medals listed on his discharge paperwork were the National Defense Service Medal (awarded to all military servicemen) and a Good Conduct medal, court records state.

White, who court records show also went by Jonathan Alan Davenport, racked up many more criminal charges than military awards over his lifetime, at least eight, a mixed bag of misdemeanors and felonies, usually involving some kind of theft.

Court records show that White's previous criminal history also includes impersonating a federal officer.

In his book, White states he had a federal ID card that he was no longer supposed to have and flashed it around in hopes of impressing others. The charade ended when in 1986he unknowingly brandished it to an FBI agent, who turned him over to authorities.

Then, during a state prison stint in the early 1990s, White found Christianity and decided to turn his life around.

"My identity was in the wrong place," he writes in his book. "I had been living my life to please everyone except the One I should have … Jesus Christ."

Turned in by veterans

Other veterans leery of White's stories about his military career eventually called federal authorities, who then launched an investigation. The news of his 2002 charges for impersonating a military officer stunned those who knew White.

After being paroled from a Texas prison in 1995 for a forgery conviction, he studied at a Texas seminary where he received a master's degree. He got a job as director of prison fellowship ministry, court records state. Many around White viewed him as a God-fearing man who lived his life feeding the needy, repairing homes for the elderly and shepherding others toward Christianity.

"If you knew him on a personal basis, you'd be shocked," said John Brewster, who met White through a Bible study he led at Second Baptist Church. The 61-year-old retired attorney described White as incredibly intelligent, charming, someone who occasionally told interesting stories about his life.

In 2001, White was laid off from his ministry job due to budget cuts. Court records show that around the same time he began making appearances at Marine Corps functions around Houston, each time wearing the uniform and medals. Witnesses told authorities he drove to the events in his silver Buick, fashioned with Texas Legion of Valor license plates, forging a military discharge form to receive the plates,which are issued by the state to those with military medals of honor.

"He got every bit of that stuff off the Internet," Porto said.

Sanity questions

White's federal court file from 10 years ago raises questions about his mental health, with a psychiatrist suggesting he may be delusional. Authorities, however, believed he was competent to stand trial.

Porto said White didn't appear to gain anything monetarily from the charade. "It was more like to inflate his ego or feel some kind of self-importance," he said.

White was convicted on three counts related to impersonating a military officer and sentenced to eight months in a federal prison, a fine and a year of probation, during which time he would be required to participate in a mental health program.

Neither his family nor his attorney could be reached for comment.

In December, a case file with White's name on it showed up on Porto's desk again. This time he is accused of trying to strong arm information, such as Social Security cards and birth certificates, from at least three different people - one a state trooper - under the guise he was a CIA agent. He also allegedly told a Tomball police officer he was a CIA agent, demanding that the officer dismiss his traffic ticket.

"It disappointed me tremendously," said Brewster, who recently heard the news about White's new charges. "I'd hoped that it was a one-time thing."

White pled not guilty to the charges. His trial date has not yet been set.

Anita Hassan focuses on public safety as an investigative reporter for the Houston Chronicle. Her persistent reporting has highlighted Houston's massive backlog of untested rape kits, county jail abuses and corruption in a state program for sex offenders. Much of her coverage also focuses on the welfare of crime victims and on child deaths. Hassan communicates daily with law enforcement officials and was previously the Chronicle's cops and general assignments reporter, where she first learned how sift through scanner traffic and locate crime reports at police headquarters.